February is Black History Month, a time to raise awareness of the experience of black people and their contributions to society. This past February was also an opportunity to raise student awareness of a new club at Cary-Grove — the Black Student Union.

As the name of the club states, it focuses on black student issues and creating a safe environment for black students, but everyone is welcome.

For Black History Month, the BSU compiled a list of influential songs written by black artists to play during the musical minute, as German music was played on the musical minute when the foreign exchange students came last year and how Latino Leadership Club got to play Spanish music for a while.

“We made the musical minute playlist, but they told us we were only allowed to play it for the last week,” senior Camille Perry said. “We also wanted to put slides on influential people from black history up on the big screens in the cafeterias, but we didn’t have enough time to prepare.”

Even if you’re not aware of Black History Month, it would be a pleasant change to hear something other than “Let it Go” and “Hands” when you’re scrambling to your next class.

Despite the BSU’s efforts to change the musical minute, February went by with the same old songs playing.

“We were supposed to do the musical minute all month,” Perry said. “During a meeting with Mrs. Fischer, the teachers in charge talked about the club, but my idea for the musical minute wasn’t brought up.”

While the BSU didn’t get their playlist into the musical minute, the group will continue with its mission of building awareness and empathy.

“I hope […] we get to share black culture with other people,” Perry said. The BSU “is a chance to show what we’re really about without people coming for our culture and calling us ‘ghetto’ or ‘ratchet.’”

Perry founded the BSU in December. She got the idea to form it in our predominantly white school because she wanted to create a community of other black students to help each other out.

“Basically, there was an incident my sophomore year where someone said something racist and I retaliated, and I got a detention,” she said. “I felt like we needed more of a community for people to talk about these experiences so we don’t feel as alone.”

If you’re interested in helping the BSU’s mission, you should check out a meeting. They are held every other Wednesday in the health room. Perry and the other leaders have created a welcoming and understanding community of active students.

Because CG is a predominantly Caucasian school, students should take it upon themselves to become educated on black culture, whether that means coming to BSU once or twice, researching a little bit on important figures of black history, or simply just listening to influential black musicians.

If you want to hear more than just the music that wasn’t played on the musical minute this month, Perry collaborated with the Trojan Times to create this Spotify playlist to celebrate black excellence in music. You can access it through the big Spotify button on our homepage, or through this link: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5z4xvLlaE59dfjmZfgFqJT

a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome.

The following are real definitions by current Cary-Grove students:

“A feeling in your chest causing it to feel like a weight you can’t take off.”

“Feeling out of control and powerless over minor things others may see as stupid. It can be little things that don’t feel ‘right’, or your thoughts constantly being filled with worries that are mostly irrational.“

“A small monster that’s always trying to get past you. No matter what you’re trying to do, it’s always rushing to do it first. It can stay small, but it can grow. The more you think of it, the larger it grows. The larger it grows the faster it gets.”

My personal definition of anxiety is like having gum on the bottom your shoes. Hard to scrape off, follows you everywhere, and just when you think it’s gone, you step right into another pile.

Sometimes it’s triggered by events or situations, and other times it happens out of the blue. It’s not something I can control or flip on and off like a switch- no matter how often I wish I could.

For some people, anxiety is the only constant in a world of change. It lurks behind every exam, every hallway passing period, and every uncertain situation. For others, it can comes in waves so fast and so strong you feel like you’re on the edge of being ripped away by the current.

Regardless of how people experience anxiety, we all feel feel the occasional nervousness. This is a perfectly normal, and healthy, response to stressful situations. It’s not until it becomes a roadblock we can’t find our way around of that it becomes a problem.

But enough rambling about the particular definition. It is not the definition that holds us back, but rather what brings us to the definition in the first place.

Anxiety does not discriminate. It can get the best of any of us, at any time and at any place. We are so caught up in the idea of only the quiet or shy kids are capable of anxiety and only war veterans are capable of PTSD.

In reality, it could be the all-star football player on the team who can’t sleep the night before a big game. It could be the easy-going art kid who has to return to a stressful homelife. It could be the straight-A student who studies for hours only to show up to the test blanking on the very topics they meticulously went over all night.

It could even be the person sitting next to you. Your neighbors, your closest friends, your family, your coaches and teachers. All of them experience and cope with anxiety in different ways.

Cue Angst, a 2017 documentary on anxiety. Perhaps the most important takeaway from the film is the differentiation it creates between feeling nervous vs. having an anxiety disorder.

The film showed teenage kids who experience anxiety and taught a variety of coping mechanisms. Whether it’s holding ice cubes, snapping fingers, or jotting down thoughts, it provided simple ways to handle anxiety on our own.

Most importantly, it emphasized the importance of going through your challenges, not just avoiding them. It stressed the significance of ruling anxiety, and not letting it rule you.

Refuse to let your fear control you. You own anxiety. It does not own you. You are not the sum of your flaws or the mistakes you make.

Mental illness may be a part of us, but we are not a part of it. Having mental illness is not what defines us. It’s how we move forward and continue life that does.

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, use these resources to help:

National Suicide Hotline: 1-800-273-8255

Trevor Project (LGBTQ+ Hotline) : 1-866-488-7386

National Eating Disorder and Association: 1-800-931-2237

Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233

McHenry County Crisis Program: 800-892-8900

Mrs. Fisher, one of the social workers at Cary-Grove, recommends the following to help yourself and the people in your life through anxiety:

-Physical health and mental health are the same. Take time to care for yourself emotionally just as you would physically.

-Practice self-care and it will become a habit

– Attend a group run by student services or schedule an appointment with any of the social workers

-Changing the topic, going for a walk, and talking through the situation are great ways to support a friend

-Remember that your role is being a supportive friend, not a parent or therapist. Encourage your friend to talk to a mental health professional or trusted adult.

Netflix is rebooting old shows left and right. Voltron, She-Ra and Carmen Sandiego are all Netflix-exclusive updated versions of our parents’ favorite TV shows. It’s great that kids growing up nowadays can share some entertainment experiences and preferences with their parents. Even if you’re not a kid, the animation is spectacular and the storylines aren’t too elementary. Netflix recently confirmed that Carmen Sandiego season two is coming, so if you want to be prepared for that, watch the first season.

Carmen Sandiego (Gina Rodriguez) is the titular character of the show (obviously) who goes around the world trying to stop the crime organization she grew up with. Every organization with an abbreviated name is out to get her: INTERPOL, VILE and ACME. Carmen escapes by the brim of her hat on every expedition, with the help of Player (Finn Wolfhard), Ivy (Abby Trott) and Zack (Michael Hawley). The character designs are spectacular, and you can tell a lot of love went into every aspect of Carmen Sandiego.

The Hollow (1 season)

TV rating: TV-Y7-FV

People love a good mystery. The Hollow is the story of three kids who wake up in a bunker and go on a quest to find out who they are and why they’re in their current situation. My friend put this show on my list, and who was I to say no? Though I’m not one for puzzles or escape rooms, this show keeps me interested with its story. Every episode ends with a cliffhanger, so it’s best to watch only when you don’t have important work to do later.

At every turn, Adam (Adrian Petriw), Mira (Ashleigh Ball) and Kai (Connor Parnall) are propelled into danger and use their critical thinking and special abilities to survive. The animation and worlds of The Hollow are picturesque, and each scene is well-done, especially the fight scenes. Each aspect of their journey is well-chronicled in neat, twenty minute segments, but going in depth into their quest runs the risk of spoiling the whole show.

Umbrella Academy (1 season)

TV rating: TV-14

Originally, Umbrella Academy started as a comic book series, created by lead singer of My Chemical Romance, Gerard Way. I’ll admit, the banners and ads on Netflix don’t show how appealing this show really is, but just give it a try. Gerard and his team are still working with Dark Horse Comics to continue developing the story and universe of Umbrella Academy, and eventually adapt a second season to the small screen.

43 children were born on October 1st, 1989, all to women who had not been pregnant before that day. Eccentric billionaire, Reginald Hargreeves, succeeds in adopting seven of them and raising them as his own. They all converge back to the Academy they were raised in after their father’s mysterious death. This news brings them together to find out what killed their father and to band against impending danger. Recreated as a live-action adaptation fairly true to the comics, Umbrella Academy is truly one of the best shows out on Netflix right now with its astonishing special effects and eccentric, off-the-wall plot.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past week or so, you’ve at least heard of the famous snow day rap performed by Cary-Grove’s Principal, Mr. Lesinski.

Anticipating a snow day on Monday, Jan. 28, his passion for 90’s rap led him to create his own version of Vanilla Ice’s classic hit, “Ice Ice Baby.” Mr. Lesinski has a background teaching English and rap poetry, and his former students at Lakes High School dubbed him “MC Lesinski.”

“I try to replace the lyrics similarly and plug things in that make sense,” he explained. His snow day announcements used songs by Vanilla Ice, Will Smith and Warren G to stick to his theme of classic 90’s rap. By creating a link between the actual song and his own variation, people were able to recognize the song as well as hear a creative and memorable announcement regarding the snow days.

Mr. Lesinski’s music background ranges all the way to fourth grade when he played one of the von Trapp children in The Sound of Music.

“I always loved music,” he said. “At one point when I was younger I thought I was going to pursue something in music, but sports ended up becoming my passion. Music has always been something I listened to and do for enjoyment.”

When he wasn’t binge-watching A Million Little Things or Birdbox, Mr. Lesinski spent his snow days creating indoor games for his two kids, Ella and Leo, to play inside.This included creating a makeshift bowling alley with couch cushions. When WGN news reached out to him about his raps, he was more than happy to oblige.

“My son watches WGN every morning with my wife and daughter, and the first thing I thought of was Leo sitting in front of the TV watching his dad, himself, and his sister on the news,” he said. “The best moment of the week was watching him.”

Mr. Lesinski is fully aware of the Ellen hashtags that have been relentlessly bombarding the comment section of his most recent posts. Although he doesn’t believe he is “Ellen material,” he would make an appearance on her show if given the opportunity.

“The enjoyment is how well its been received by the community and the fun people have had with it,” he said. “I did not anticipate all of the views.”

All of this has left many students pondering when his next “album” will come out.

“You’ll just have to wait and see,” he said. “You never know.”

With this in mind, students are left to anticipate what will be next in store for the legendary MC Lesinski.

Cary-Grove’s Anomoly art show marked its tenth anniversary this December, and it’s clear that the show has only grown in size and talent over the past decade.

Anomoly is the (mostly) senior art show that takes place in the CG lobby each December. A mix of students from AP Photos, Art 4 and AP Studio come together to present their best works of the first semester for friends, family, teachers, students, ordinary townsfolk and members of CGPAC. Some artists sell work and culinary goods, while others do it just for show or the grade.

So, why is it called Anomoly instead of Anomaly, which is the correct spelling of the word?

“When it was first started,” art teacher Mrs. DiLeo said, “[art teacher] Mrs. Guss was on maternity leave with her second kid, Molly. One of the art teachers at the time named it after her two kids then, Annie and Molly. It is not just ‘anomaly’ spelled wrong.”

For the artists, it’s one of the only art shows just for seniors. However, some juniors, like Nathan Kutok, are included as well due to their artistic talent and placement in senior level art classes. Kutok, who focuses on natural photography and wildlife documentation, was involved because he’s enrolled in an Independent Study course.

Most AP Photos students are seniors, such as Mickey Dotson. Dotson, who focuses on a common topic of gender identity and American activism in their works, takes the show as an opportunity to show and sell their work, but also to educate show-goers on their art’s themes.

“It was stressful and I should have prepared more, and I didn’t know how my work would be received by the public,” Dotson said. “I thought people would take it as an opportunity to have a political debate, and I was surprised when that did not happen. It was a bit draining for me as an introvert, and I really didn’t want to talk to people, so I was glad not a whole lot of people started a conversation with me.”

Of course, AP Photos isn’t the only class these skilled senior artists come from. Jason Miles is currently enrolled in Art 4, previously known as senior studio. Though the class was originally designed for traditional media, it has evolved to include digital media, which is what Jason uses to create his works. His 3D designs are unique, as no other students have knowledge of Blender, his program of choice.

“The best part of Anomoly was preparing for it and getting my board ready,” Miles said. “I found enjoyment from making everything look nice for the show. Honestly, it’s not what I expected. I hoped more people would be around my board. But it was fun seeing others’ work and seeing people interested in my pieces.”

While Art 4 is one of the traditional media art classes, AP Studio is the same class with a slightly more rigorous schedule. Studio artist Ann Talerico specializes in ink-based media and showed off a plethora of works during the show.

“It was a blast,” Talerico said. “I made a lot of money and got to talk to a lot of people who enjoyed my art. I made around $300, and it was nice to make money, but it was fun just existing in my environment.”

Many more artists were involved in Anomoly than could be included in this article. Many fruitful conversations are to be had by talking to participants face-to-face, as this experience was truly unique for everyone involved. Each rendition of Anomoly is unique, and we will be looking forward to seeing past and present CG students next year at the show.

It was a tale of two halves Sunday for the Cary-Grove Trojans (9-15,7-6) as their fantastic start to the game, aided by a balanced offense and a lockdown defense, was quickly undone by numerous turnovers and a cold shooting performance in the second half.

Credit McHenry (19-9,8-4) for playing resilient and taking advantage of their opportunities, but the Trojans constantly shooting themselves in the foot sure helped, too.

The first quarter was all Trojans as they picked apart the Warriors inside and out, scoring in the paint and behind the arc with ease. On the ropes and facing a 15-8 deficit, McHenry was able to hit a corner three-pointer at the buzzer to cut it to 15-11.

Cary-Grove wasted no time starting off the second quarter strong and managed to stretch the lead to 29-19, thanks to back-to-back Emily Lukowski three-pointers.

Then came the turnover bug, with McHenry intercepting the Trojans’ passes on numerous occasions to jumpstart their offense.

“We just tend to make unforced errors at the worst times,” Coach Rod Saffert said after the game. “There is always an open girl. We need to find her.”

By the end of the second quarter, thanks to a slew of three-pointers and steals by McHenry, the Trojans’ lead was cut to five with the score at 33-28.

Both teams started the second half off extremely well, with the lead going back and forth. It wasn’t until a 5-0 run to end the third quarter, capped off by another Warriors buzzer-beater that silenced the crowd, that the Trojans began to feel like the game was in danger of slipping out of their hands.

The Trojans had a second wind to begin the fourth quarter, scoring two quick baskets to tie the game 50-50. It looked like another nail-biter was in store. Unfortunately, though, that turned out to be the Trojans’ last hurrah, as they proceed to go on a 5:40 scoring drought. Meanwhile, the Warriors went on a 16-0 run to put the game out of reach.

“Once the third quarter happened, we had dug a hole too deep to climb out of,” Coach Saffert said. “We need more consistent play on both ends of the court.”

Even though this game stung, the Trojans have no time to get down on themselves. They played Hampshire on the road the following evening before they wrap up the regular season next week with Jacobs and Prairie Ridge. Regionals start February 12th.

Finally, a game for the Trojans that didn’t require a late fourth quarter rally or a defensive stand. Behind a suffocating defensive performance and lights-out shooting, Cary-Grove (8-13,6-4) was able to rout Crystal Lake South (6-12, 3-5) 55-29 and complete a season sweep of them. Before the fourth quarter even started, every player on the Trojans’ roster managed to get on the court.

The Trojans were all business from the start, holding the Gators scoreless for the first five minutes. At the end of the first quarter, the Trojans held a 12-5 advantage.

The second quarter started off strong, too, with senior Elsa Larry engineering a 9-0 run to put the Trojans up 21-5.

In the middle of the the second quarter, though, the Gators began to gain a little momentum, cutting the lead down to eleven. With the Trojans in lots of foul trouble and the Gators in the double bonus, it appeared that the Gators were not going anywhere and could get within single digits before halftime. Then the Trojans hit another gear.

In the final four minutes of the second quarter, Emily Lukowski’s back-to-back three pointers sparked a dominating 14-2 run. Senior guard and Concordia University Basketball commit Bailey Steinkamp put the cherry on top, with a three pointer and free throw to finish a four point play. By halftime, the Trojans were all smiles with their 35-12 lead, and the Trojan crowd was loving it.

The Trojan weren’t done, though, as they managed to stretch the lead as high as 36 after Sarah Howdeshall’s contested layup to make it 55-19.

By the middle of the 3rd quarter, the starters were done for the day, which gave the backups the chance for some playing time. The Gators did score the final ten points in the running clock fourth quarter to make it 55-29, but all that did was save a little face.

With the victory, the Trojans are now only one game behind McHenry for third place in the Fox Valley Conference. The Trojans are now looking to avenge their 50-28 loss against Dundee-Crown on January 23rd on the road.

Coming off of an impressive conference win over rival Prairie Ridge, Cary-Grove (6-13, 4-4) was confident that they would be able to continue their win streak against Saint Charles North (12-9). Unfortunately, having strong team play and resilience wasn’t quite good enough to dig themselves out of a hole and knock off the North Stars.

In the first quarter, it looked as if the Trojans had them pinned. CG jumped out to an 8-4 lead, courtesy of four assisted scores and a tenacious defense.

The North Stars finally came alive, though, and got hot behind the three-point line, which resulted in a quick 10-0 run that gave them a 6-point lead.

Cary-Grove responded well, with seniors Taylor Tomasiewicz and Maddie Jannusch sparking the Trojans offensively, including a three-pointer Tomasiewicz banked off the backboard. At halftime, the score was tied 26-26 with the Trojans possessing the momentum.

Unfortunately, Saint Charles took the third quarter by storm, outscoring the Trojans 18-9 and running their lead as high as 11.

The Trojans began to chip away at the lead, eventually cutting it to four points with 1:44 left in the game. With the chance to get within a basket, the Trojans missed both of their free throws, a common theme that night.

That forced the Trojans to foul the North Stars, who promptly drained all of their free throws to put the game out of reach.

Despite the loss, it looks like the Trojans have finally turned the corner from their early-season struggles and appear capable of beating anyone on their schedule. They have won four out of their last six games, with their only two losses coming by a combined eight points. That includes a heartbreaking one-point loss at home to Hampshire, who is undefeated and in first place in conference play.

Next up for Cary-Grove is a home game on January 17th against the Huntley Red Raiders, whom they have already defeated on their court, 48-38.

Every year, the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago provides specialized care to nearly 150,000 kids from all around the globe. They call the families of patients they have treated “miracle families,” and with good reason: the work done for these children’s health and the well-being of those who love them really is a miracle.

However, medical miracles don’t come at an easy price. The hospital and the kids who are treated there rely on donations from supporters, fundraisers, and more. Without these, the miraculous work done within the hospital’s walls wouldn’t be possible. Thankfully, such fundraisers do happen, including a young tradition at Cary-Grove High School.

On Saturday, January 26th, CG’s student council will host their second-annual Dance Marathon. It’s a night full of a lot of dancing, but also games, raffles, stories and fundraising for the kids.

Students can sign up online, set a personal fundraising goal and encourage friends and family to donate through the site.

“With a donation, you are directly contributing to [Lurie Children’s Hospital’s] success,” senior Renee Hintz said. “You can know that you helped, and that alone is amazing. Every bit counts!”

Hintz, along with many others, runs a student council committee specifically created to organize, brainstorm ideas for, and advertise the 2019 CGDM.

“Nothing would really be possible without everyone there,” she said.

One of those committee members is junior Jordan Smith. She’s thrilled to be part of such a great cause, especially one that has a special significance to her and her family.

“This fundraiser is really special to me because I was a Lurie’s kid,” Smith said. “Lurie’s helped me out a lot when I was little, and they’re a huge part of my story.”

Smith, Hintz, and everyone else involved in planning this event wants to make sure participants truly know what even the smallest donation can do for someone. One way they hope to accomplish this is having some special guests come in to speak to everyone.

“We have miracle families coming in to talk and basically tell their story, tell how Lurie’s helped them,” Smith said. “You can see as many statistics as you want, but once you see the real people, it becomes real.”

“I remember last year, about everyone in the gym was crying after listening to a speaker talk about how much LCH has helped her son,” Hintz said. “It is really such a humbling experience, and it makes you realize that what you’re doing really does matter.”

Of course, no dance would be complete without great music. Thankfully, Student Council has found both a non-profit DJ and the group Green Easter. Green Easter is a grunge-rock band composed of CG students Michael Wlodek, Nazzy Mitchell, and Emerson Brashear. You can familiarize yourself with their music by looking them up on both Apple Music and Spotify.

CG’s student council has done everything they can and more to make sure the 2019 CGDM will be a hit for students and bring in lots of money for an amazing cause.

“If you are unsure of participating, it is always worth it to just sign up. You don’t want to regret not doing it,” Hintz said. “It really is one of the best experiences you could have at CG.”

The event will be on Saturday, January 26th. You can sign up online and/or donate at the link given above.

Student council, the Trojan Times, and everyone already involved hopes to see you there. Remember, every donation counts, and as the saying goes, it’s all for the kids.

Illinois is the fifth most populous state in America. It’s also the largest producer of pumpkins, the center of commerce in America, the birthplace of the Cubs and one of the most diverse states in America.

This year, it’s special; Illinois is turning 200. And what is a birthday celebration without some music? Fortunately, our state has a rich tradition of it to draw from.

Illinois has created many musical powerhouses as a gift to the country. Pioneering blues and jazz musicians include Benny Goodman and Muddy Waters, who evolved their respective genres to give Illinois a distinct and unmistakable sound. The list of “soft soul” singers is even longer, with acts like Earth, Wind and Fire, Chaka Khan, Curtis Mayfield and Lou Rawls. Rappers from Illinois include Chance the Rapper, Common, Chief Keef and the controversial Kanye West.

So far, the biggest music scene to come out of Illinois is the rock scene. Bands like REO Speedwagon, Styx, Survivor and Cheap Trick dominated the 80s. Alternative rock was heavily influenced by lllinois’ contribution to music, producing The Smashing Pumpkins, Urge Overkill, Veruca Salt, Kill Hannah and Material Issue. Newer bands of this genre include Disturbed, Fall Out Boy, Chevelle, Neko Case, The Plain White T’s, OK Go, Rise Against and McHenry County’s Alkaline Trio. Illinois also hosts major music events like Lollapalooza, Pitchfork Music Festival and Riot Fest.

Cary-Grove has contributed its part to the state’s culture, too. Famous alumni include Evan Dollard of American Gladiators fame and Paul Wertico, former drummer of the Pat Metheny Group and winner of seven Grammy Awards. CG also hosts our esteemed choir and band departments and includes members of local bands like Green Easter and Triguna.

If you’re looking to hear the best of what Illinois has to offer, check out this Spotify playlist: